This season has brought with it an avalanche of holiday cheer and good wishes. Many of these festive greetings have reached me through my e-mail. On a given day I can receive up to twenty colorful and creative communiques.
Unfortunately, only about a third of them are from people I know. Read More

A lot of people are talking about a sign posted at Nordstroms that explains why they won’t be decorating the stores for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Nordstroms is taking a stance and getting a lot of positive reaction for it. It seems people really identify with the move and want to support Nordstroms because of it. Can more businesses stand upon principles and have it pay off?

Despite signs that the economic recovery is losing steam, the outlook for online holiday sales remains upbeat.
Still, the uncertain economy does pose complex challenges for retailers’ holiday season preparations. How they manage inventory will be a critical success factor, so smart retailers are working more closely with supply-channel partners to deal with different consumer-demand scenarios.
The same bargain-hunting attitude adopted during the past two holiday seasons is likely to define shopping behavior again this year. Read More